Just a midwestern wife, making a way in the world the only way I know how, and sharing with others who might be interested in the way I do things. Hoping to make life a little easier and more fulfilling!

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Saturday, July 7, 2012

Blackberry Lemon "Fluffcake"

As a young wife, there are many recipes and treats I have yet to attempt to tackle. I didn't begin cooking or baking until I was in college when I realized how satisfying it was to be able to create something wonderful for people to enjoy. I got such satisfaction from cooking and baking, and so decided that I should really learn what I was doing. I decided on Christmas break to help my grandma with all the Christmas baking. This is where I learned A LOT about baking. It was great bonding time, and I now have a skill that not only myself, but hopefully others will appreciate as well.

Now, with that being said, my skill is mostly self taught, and, therefore, has many flaws. What my husband so supportively has nicknamed "fluffcake" was actually my first attempt at cheesecake :) It was a simple, but silly, mistake when reading the recipe. I like using recipes for things I've never done before to get a feel for what it should be like when I experiment myself. So, when making my cheesecake, I accidentally forgot to think. It called for 2 pounds of cream cheese and I bought two packages which were 8 oz each...you may see where I am going with this. Anyway, that's only 1 pound of cream cheese. I'm not sure what I was thinking, or if I was thinking at all!! As I made the cheesecake I thought it was going great, and I went to put it into the oven, and it was very runny. After the fact, my mother-in-law told me it seemed too runny. I had no idea, I had never baked a real cheesecake before, so how would I have any idea what consistency it was before going in the oven. I never went to school for this, so in my mind miraculous things happen in the oven (not chemical processes with heat ). When she brought this to my attention was when I realized my error.

We then thought it probably wouldn't set well, and while it would probably be tasty, it might be more of a bowl and spoon kind of treat opposed to a plate and fork kind :) Well, as it turns out, it wasn't so bad!! It actually set and everything! However, it is very obviously NOT the consistency of cheesecake and so my husband now calls it fluffcake. This is an especially sweet gesture since I was making cheesecake for him since it's his favorite. I will have to try this adventure again in the next week or two and be VERY CAREFUL about reading my instructions. Here is a picture, and here is the recipe I followed. I imagine it would be even better done correctly.

Here is the recipe I actually did if you are interested in trying something different :) I couldn't help but share my silly mistake. It happens, right? So, consider this the angelfood cake of cheesecakes, it makes the most sense that way in my head.

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.Grease your springform pan (I used a 9 inch pan) with 1 Tbl of butter. Mix together remaining 2 Tbl of butter with the one cup of graham crackers in a medium bowl and press into the pan creating the crust.

Cream together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth with a hand blender. Then add in the milk and mix thoroughly. Once the mixture is nice and creamy add in the eggs one at a time, beating just long enough to mix them in. Add in the greek yogurt, vanilla, and flour until smooth. Separate into two bowls.

In a blender or food processor, combine lemon zest, juice, and blackberries. On a puree setting mix them until a nice thick consistency (not too long). Mix together half of the cream cheese mixture with the blueberries and pour onto the crust. Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven, pour remaining mixture on top (it will mix oddly) and place back in the oven for one hour. Mine was pretty brown on the top, but it didn't taste burned. I think it was all the juice from the blackberries that darkened the top. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Enjoy!!